Vehicle jack



Aug; 6, 1929. E 1,723,134

VEHICLE JACK Filed Nov. 1s,- 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 In" nun Patented Aug. 6, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FLOYD F. COLE, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO ELITE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

1 VEHICLE JACK.

Application filed November 18, 1927.

My invention relates to an improvement in vehicle jacks, of the ratchet type, and the object of the invention in general is to provide a simple and inexpensive but durablejack structure which may be readily assembled and easily operated. Thus the standard and other parts of the jack are made of pressed steel, and the main lift member is provided with a hinged extension of pressed steel which is particularly constructed to provide stability and a firm support for the load when folded to a position of use over the head of the lift member. A forked member of pressed steel and a bent leaf spring also forms r a part of the assembly to control the operation of the ratchet mechanism and the lifting and lowering movements of the lift member, and the said forked member and spring are particularly constructed to permit convenient and rapid assembly of the jack parts and to function positively and safely in the different positions in which they are set to effect raising or lowering movements of the load.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical section centrally through my improved ack showing the operating parts in the act of raising the toothed rack or lift member, and Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the jack with the lift member in the same position and the handle and head in section. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the jack on line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side view, en larged, of the spring and forked member for controlling the pawls, and Fig. 5 is a view of the same parts from the opposite side thereof, Fig. 6 is a sectional view on horizontal line 6-6 of Fig. l. Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the spring and forked member shown in Fig. 5, and Fig. 8 is a sectional view vertically on line 8-8 of Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a perspective.

view of the spring, and Figs. 10 and 11 are perspective views of the operating pawl and the holding pawl, respectively. Fig. 12 is a sectional view corresponding to Fig. 1 but showing the operating lever raised and the holding pawl engaged with the toothed rack bar or lift member. Fig. 13 is a sectional view corresponding to Fig. 12 but showing the lever lowered and the operating pawl engaged with the rack bar, as in lowering the load. Fig. 14 is a horizontal section of the jack on line 14l1l of Fig. 1.

The jack comprises a ribbed base 2 of pressed sheet steel having vertical border flanges 3-3 to stiffen the same. A hollow Serial No. 234,072.

standard 4 of pressed sheet steel is flanged horizontally at its bottom, and the flanges 5 are riveted to the ribs 6 of base 2. Flaring ribs 7 are struck up at an inclination in the flat sides of the standard at the corners of the base flanges to reenforce the same, and a ribbed channel 8 is also struck up, in each flat side wall of the standard parallel with the front cross wall 9. he ribbed channels 8 extend upwardly from the bottom flanges 5 to within a short distance of the top of the standard, and lateral projections 10 at the lower end of the rack or lift bar 11 extend into the ribbed channels 8 to guide the bar and to hold it slidably within the standard. Projections 10 are preferably formed by upset ting the stock or crowding the metal laterally under pressure at the lower end corners of bar 11. In this way the flat side 12 of bar 11 is supported to slide against the cross wall 9 of the standard, and the top edge of each side wall of the standard is also indented at the point let opposite the corner edges of the ratchet teeth 15 thereon to prevent lift bar 11 from tilting. A part of the top of the standard is also closed by inwardly extending flanges 16 which meet and are rigidly held in bracing relation by rivets 17 wiiich pass through the side walls of the standard.

The rear end of the standard is open to reeeive the operating mechanism comprising a forked socket member 18 for a removable handle 19. Socket member 18 is pivotally supported upon a cross pin or bolt 20, which also supports a holding pawl 21 pivotally opposite the teeth on rack bar 11. The inner forked ends of socket member 18 carry an operating pawl 22, and the said pawls are pressed U- shaped in cross section and formed with depending prolongations or tails 21 and 22, respectively. Mounted immediately beneath the said pawls is a pivoted lever 23 and a tilting device 24 carrying a leaf spring 25 for controlling the working movements of said pawls. The spring is bent into U-shape to provide two upright spring arms 26 and 27 and an irregularly curved connecting base portion 28. The upper free ends of the spring arms are adapted to press constantly against the depending prolongations or tails 21' and 22 of the two pawls, and the cross connecting portion 28 of the spring is detachably interlocked with a horizontal finger 29 centrally at the bottom of tilting device 24, see Figs. 4 and 5. This tilting device is a simple sheet metal stan'iping having a rightangled projection 30 at one bottom corner which is perforated to permit the device to be pivotally supported within the standard upon a cross pin 31, and the opposite cor er of this stamping is formed with a second pro ection 32 which is bent in an inclined plane to permit a crank arm 33 on pivoted lever 23 to enthe same and to tilt said device when said lever is turned outwardly and upwardly as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. The upperpart of the tilting device 24 is forked to provide two beveled arms 3% and 35, each of which is bent to bring the pointed or beveled end portions thereof in the same vertical plane as that occupied by the arms 26 and 27 of the leaf spring when said spring is attached to device 2 1, i, e., when the bow 28 is interlocked with finger 29 and part 36 ot the bow is seated upon projection 30. In this way each spring arm is held under constant tension and presses yieldingly against the beveled edges of said arms 3 1 and 35 when the spring is connected with tilting device 24, and the tails 21 and 22 of the pawls are free to enter the flaring spaces between the spring arms and the beveled arms when the jack handle is oscillated. The downward movement or" the handle eii ects a lifting movement of the rack bar and the load, providing the crank member or lever 23 is first turned upwardly to a horizontal position as shown in Fig. 1. In that setting pawl 22 is pressed by the spring arm 27 to engage one of the teeth on rack bar 11, and the holding pawl 21 is pressed by spring arm 26 to engage a tooth higher up on the rack bar. As the jack handle is pressed downwardly the operating pawl 22 raises the rack bar and the load, and the holding pawl 21 drops under tooth and sustains the bar and load in the elevated position, an operation which may be repeated intermittently until the limit of upward movement of the rack bar is reached as fixed by the projections on the bar and the length of the ribbed channel 8 in the standard. To lower the load a ditterent setting 01" the tilting device 24- is required, which is obtained by pressing the lever or crank member 23 down to a vertical position as shown in Figs. 12 and 13. In that setting the leaf sprin 25 constantly tends to tilt device 2s upwardly on its pivot and to move the beveled arms relatively nearer the rack bar so that when the jack handle is lowcred pawl 22 will be caused to engage a tooth on the rack bar to lift the bar and the load slightly until the holding pawl 21 is released from its tooth, whereupon the holding pawl will swing away'from the rack bar because beveled arm 3 1- is now pressing against tail 21 of the holding pawl as shown in Fig. 13. Holding pawl 21 is held in this retired or release position for a brief interval until the load is lowered a step or two, but when tail 22 or operating pawl 22 descends and rides over beveled arm the tilting device is turned on its pivot by the pressure of tail 22 and the beveled arm 3-l-inoves away from tai 21 of pawl 21 and permits the spring arm 23 to throw the holding pawl 21 into stop and locking engagement with a tooth on rack bar 11, see Fig. 12. To more clearly illustrate t e working relationship of the parts I show the jack handle at its extreme high and low positions in Figs. 12 and 13, but such an extreme arc movement or sweep of the handle is not actually required to lower the rack bar step by step.

The load is engaged and supported alternatively by a flanged head 38 or by a hinged yoke 39 at the top of rack bar 11. Head 38 is riveted to the upper end of the rack bar, and yoke 39 is hinged to one end of the head to permit itto swing cither to one side of the bar or directly over and upon head 38. Yoke 39 is made of sheet steel of relatively light weight, and to give strength and stability thereto to support a heavy load the side walls 10 are pressed inwardly on tapering or conical lines and the apices of the corner brought together in bracing relation and secured together by a single rivet ll. The bottom edges 42 of the yoke overlap the depending side flanges of head 38 and because the side walls of the yoke are indented and united as described the yoke may be seated firmly upon head 38 without danger of displacement or spreading under load.

ll hat I claim, is:

1. A. vehicle jack, comprising a standard, a toothed bar with said standard, a pair of pawls engageable with said bar, an oscillatory handle mounted on said standard carrying one of said pawls the other of said pawls being mounted on said standard, a device pivoted within said standard having beveled arms, and base projections, a U-shaped spring interlocked with said projections and situated opposite said beveled arms, said spring and beveled projections being engageable with said pawls, and means for holding said pivoted device in an inactive position.

2. A vehicle jack, comprising a standard, a toothed bar within said standard, a holding pawl for said bar connected to said stand ard, an operating handle mounted on said standard having a pawl engageable with said toothed bar, said pawls having prolongations, a forked member pivotally mounted at one end within said standard adjacent said prolongations, said member having a finger at its bottom and an inclined projection at its free end. a U-shaped spring interlocked with said finger having tree spring extremities situated opposite the forked portions of said member, and a lever pivoted to said standard having a crank portion engageable with said inclined projection.

3. A vehicle jack, comprising a standard, a rack bar within said standard, a handle on pawls, and means for tilting and holding said pivoted device in an inactive position.

4. A vehicle jack, comprising a standard, a lift member within said standard, operating mechanism for said lift member mountcd upon said standard, a load supporting head affixed to said liit member, and a yoke hinged to said head having interengagin side walls riveted together and adapted to overlap and rest upon said head.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FLOYD F. (J 

